The present application claims the benefit of priority from Danish patent application No. PA 2000 01373 filed on Sep. 15, 2000.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of automatically separating at least one organ from a set of organs eviscerated from a carcass, which set of organs comprises a diaphragm and one or more organs.
EP-A-0 587 253 describes a method of separating one or more organs from a cluster of organs from a slaughtered animal, particularly a bird. According to this publication connective tissue can be broken by suspending a strong organ, such as a gullet, from a fixing device and influencing an organ in the cluster by a force in a direction away from the point of suspension. In one embodiment, two bend rods are closed around the gullet, and the fixing device is lifted, whereby the organs connected with the gullet are stripped off. In another embodiment, the suspended cluster is conveyed by a conveyor, parts of the cluster are passed between some rods and plates, and as these rods and plates diverge from the conveyor path, organs in the cluster are pulled away from other parts of the cluster during the conveyance.
It should be noted that the present invention relates to separation of organs in a set of organs comprising a diaphragm, and that birds, to which the above publication EP-A-0 587 253 relates, have no diaphragm. The invention is thus aimed particularly at sets of organs from carcasses of mammals, such as pigs, sheep, goats and cattle.
The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and a method of the type mentioned in the introduction, which render it possible to provide separated organs of good quality, that is, where the organs are whole and substantially free of other parts of the set of organs.
It is a particular object to provide separation of liver and/or kidneys from a set of organs containing these organs, whereby organs are obtained that require substantially no post-treatment, but can be used as they are.
It is a further object to provide an apparatus and a method that can utilize the conveyance of a set of organs of a pluck conveyor system in the slaughterhouse.
This is obtained by an apparatus which is characterized in comprising a running conveyor with hooks for suspending the set of organs by the diaphragm and conveying it in a conveying direction of the conveyor, a slit device arranged below the conveyor with a slit for guiding horizontally in the slit a connective tissue part of the set of organs during the conveyance of the set of organs on the conveyor with the said at least one organ located below the slit, a retaining device arranged in a conveying path which the said at least one organ follows with the connective tissue part guided by the slit, the retaining device being adapted to retain said at least one organ on the retaining device by means of the conveyor""s pull in the set of organs, and means for causing separation of the said at least one organ and the connective tissue part when such retention has been provided.
The invention applies the fact that the organ is guided towards the retaining device and is here made to be retained by the conveyor""s conveyance of the set of organs, whereupon a suitable separation of the organ can be made which keeps the organ intact while taking place in an area close to the organ. This more surely provides separation at the desired place in the set of organs.
In one embodiment, the slit device and the retaining device together comprise two portions which, between adjacent edges, define the slit for the connective tissue part with an inlet at an upstream end of the slit in relation to the conveying direction of the conveyor, this slit having a first section extending along the conveyor and a second section with retention surfaces on either side of the slit, which retention surfaces extend downwards in relation to the conveying direction of the conveyor so that the said at least one organ is retained on the retention surfaces by means of the conveyor""s pull in the set of organs. This embodiment is suitable for pulling a liver off the diaphragm. Owing to the inclination of the retention surfaces in relation to the conveying direction of the conveyor, the liver will not, when it reaches the retention surfaces, let itself be pulled further in the longitudinal direction of the slit by the conveyor""s pull in the diaphragm, so the diaphragm is gradually pulled free of the liver which remains at rest in relation to the retention surfaces until the diaphragm has been pulled free, whereupon the liver can fall down into a collection place.
In a second embodiment, the retaining device comprises a pair of curved surface parts which between them form a slit for the connective tissue part and are arranged in the conveying path of the said one organ, which surface parts form a cavity facing the said organ. In that connection a cutting device may also be provided behind the retaining device for cutting a connection between the connective tissue part and the said at least one organ. This embodiment is suitable for separating one kidney or two kidneys from the set of organs, the kidney or kidneys being retained securely while the connection to the connective tissue part, the so-called renal fat, is cut.
Other advantageous embodiments appear from the dependent apparatus claims.
The object is further obtained by a method which is characterized by the steps: the set of organs is suspended by the diaphragm in a running conveyor with hooks and conveyed in a conveying direction of the conveyor, a connective tissue part of the set of organs is guided horizontally in a slit in a slit device arranged below the conveyor during the conveyance of the set of organs on the conveyor with the said at least one organ located below the slit, the said at least one organ is retained on a retaining device arranged in a conveying path which the at least one organ follows with the connective tissue part being guided by the slit, the organ being retained on the retaining device by means of the conveyor""s pull in the set of organs, and a separation is caused between the said at least one organ and the connective tissue part when the said retention has been provided. Advantageous embodiments appear from the dependent method claims.
In one embodiment, which is suitable for separation of a liver from the diaphragm, the connective tissue part is guided into an inlet of the slit which is located upstream in relation to the conveying direction of the conveyor and is found between adjacent edges of two portions comprised by the slit device and the holding device together, this slit having a first section extending along the conveyor and a second section with retention surfaces on either side of the slit, and the said at least one organ is retained on the retention surfaces by means of the conveyor""s pull in the set of organs, these surfaces extending downwards in relation to the conveying direction of the conveyor.
In an embodiment suitable for separating one kidney or two kidneys from the set of organs, the at least one organ is guided into a cavity formed by a pair of curved surface parts comprised by the retaining device, the surface parts between them forming a slit for the connective tissue part and being arranged in the conveying path for the said one organ. The separation is then preferably provided by means of a cutting device behind the retaining device, the cutting device cutting a connection between the connective tissue part and the said at least one organ.
Other advantageous embodiments appear from the dependent method claims.